Death's Chronicles
by The Crimson Commando
Summary: Join Fireteams Death and Dragon on their adventures throughout the system. The House of Winter has risen from the Wolves' assimilation, and the Cabal's patience is tested. But possible allies hide in the darkness. All it takes for them to show themselves... is respect.
1. Chapter 1: Fallen Dreams

**I only own the OCs in this story unless otherwise stated**

Chapter 1: Fallen Dreams

 _Archer's Line, Moon_

Firewing sat on the mass accelerator, staring over to where the Hellmouth lay. The Hunter watched as the dark Hive magic brewed over the pit. His Wolves' cloak shined the sun's reflection and allowed him to see the black wisps coiling, ever rising and sinking.

The wire shot whizzed past his head, forcing Firewing to remove himself from his thoughts. He saw the vandal through his cloaking device, powering up another shot. The white-and-blue Hunter stood up and walked towards the accelerator station, still on the beam itself. Briefly, he looked down and behind him just as a sniper shot removed the Exile's head.

"Why did you have to go and shoot him?" The human asked.

"Screeching was starting to get on my nerves." a male Titan commed in.

"It wasn't a Wizard, Lucks." an Exo Warlock chimed in.

"Still."

Firewing considered Lucks and Triton as his brothers. Not by blood, of course, but by battle. The Titan was an excellent sniper with Her Benevolence, as well as one of the best hand-to-hand combatants he'd ever seen. He usually donned the Revenant armor shader given to him by Dead Orbit, but now he was clad in his fireteam colors; midnight black with navy blue stripes.

Triton was the team leader and resident Warlock. He was well-known for his natural talent at ending conflicts quickly, either by word or gun. Clad in black with silver dots on his arm, Triton often delved into the mysteries that surrounded the planets. He favored Bad Juju when out in the wilds, despite its dark connection with Toland the Shattered. Instead of ignoring the darkness within, the Warlock looked after it, keeping the memories of his, _their_ , fallen comrade.

Samson was the only Awoken in their team, but was also one of the strongest of the Titans. He fell to Xyor, the Unwed, when Fireteam Death was sent to suppress Phogoth. Samson had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he unleashed a Fist of Havoc on the lumbering Ogre to divert his attention. It worked and he was sent flying onto the landing platform. The momentum pulled him to the edge. When he brought his head up to continue climbing, he met with Phogoth's eye beam and was immediately killed. His ghost was still functional, but then _she_ came.

Xyor dropped out of one of the approaching tombships onto the platform. She spotted the defenseless Ghost and grabbed it. She screeched, calling for the spirit's companions to look. They did just as she crushed the poor AI into a sparking pile of metal. She was immediately fired upon after that, but managed to escape.

Phogoth was killed, but at the cost of a brother. They hoped his sacrifice was fruitful, but when Ikora sent them to the Pits a second time, Phogoth had risen again. Triton began to delve into the Darkness and was promptly guarded. He started to see that everyone was in a stalemate; the Guardians kept felling the Champions of the Darkness in where it festered. It seemed that they were winning, when in fact, it would be all for naught. After the light retreated to its home, the Darkness would quickly rebirth those who had been slain in its strongest gatherings.

Triton, Lucks, and Firewing would always keep a sharp eye on Earth and its moon after the event. Each swore that every Hive they saw would not live to die, if at all, of old age. Then the Fallen were seen as a possible ally. Firewing grew his respect for the Eliksni to equal his respect of the Cabal. Whenever he was not needed, he went to the Vestian Outpost in the Reef and conversed with Variks.

The Hunter and Warlock soon pushed themselves to learn the Eliksni language. They both translated it fluently, but required their Ghosts to do the opposite. After that, it was disabling Shanks and disarming the living.

That practice ended up with surprise and interest in the Fallen. To them, these enemies wouldn't shoot to kill except when necessary to protect themselves. They spoke questions with a tone of respect. Although looked down upon by some of the more hateful Guardians, Fireteam Death continued to make friends within most of the Eliksni Houses, particularly Winter.

Rather, those that didn't choose to follow Skolas and lived. Those groups soon joined together with Triton's help to bring back Winter. Firewing, however, was constantly met with hostility for his bearing the Wolves' sigil. He managed to repair the capes of dead Winter vandals, killed by the Guardians who shot first, and construct his own Winter cloak. Then he was met with the same respect as his brother.

Winter, now very weak, but bent more on information than battle, became a second home for Death. Since they had to grow, or risk getting pushed off of Venus by the Vex, Winter allowed any exiled by the old House to come back if they chose to. Few did, wary of the Guardians that helped rebuild it. In time, that fear calmed down and numbers increased. But the House would remain on the defensive for a long time.

A skiff dropped next to the station, bearing Wolves' colors. Death immediately gathered to exterminate the intruders. The Fallen all died with seconds of their hitting the ground. The leader was dealt with, and Death quickly reached the Ether Chest.

"Two tokens, couple of rare engrams, and a legendary chestplate." Lucks reported. Not a lot, but the legendary engram was worth the trouble.

"Usual glimmer?" Firewing asked, searching around for high ranking Exiles with his High Road Soldier scout rifle.

"Yeah."

"All right, let's get out of here. Those Scorch Captains got my Fallen Major and precision bounties finished." Triton spoke as he pulled out his Ghost, Keith. "Beam us up, Scotty."

Keith laughed and responded with a "Aye, sir."

Lucks and Fire just chuckled as they were transmatted to their ships. The latter had _Ceres Galliot_ , while Lucks tortured his Ghost with _Little Light_. Triton stuck with his _Outrageous Fortune_. He punched in the desired coordinates and the team launched through space.

"Vestian Outpost, here we come."


	2. Chapter 2: Dragons Awake

**Usual disclaimer applies**

Chapter 2: Dragons Awake

A few minutes after they entered warp space, Fireteam Death exited it outside the Reef. The three ships shot towards the expanse of asteroids and broken relics of the past. Once they found the Outpost, their ships were set on standard orbit and they transmatted into the Fallen Ketch.

Some of the Guardians already there watched as a fireteam slowly got their senses back. The Hunter walked over to Variks, possibly to buy some ammo syntheses. The Warlock turned right to the bounty board, his pace obviously showing he turning bounties. The group's Titan dashed to the Cryptarch. Most of the spectators went back to what they were doing. One kept watching the trio.

He was sitting on the ground, his back propped up against a table. Everyone knew who he was, as well as his team. He was a Hunter who went by the name "Hurricane." Being an Awoken, he was usually not as social as his companions. The ocean-blue armor was covered with sheathes for throwing knives, one of which was empty as he repeatedly tossed the knife into the air. Standing next to him was his shotgun, The Crash. Once he couldn't see the newcomers anymore, he switched his vision back towards space.

Variks leaned against his staff as a white-and-blue Hunter approached him. "Welcome back, Guardian," he rasped. As the man came closer, the Eliksni was better able to recognize him. Firewing. The red lightning strike on his right arm was now clearly visible.

"Hello, Variks," Firewing responded. Two Tokens of Flight appeared in his hands and he gave them to Variks. "Two Tokens, all yours."

 _"Thank you. I trust the Wolves have lost some of their pack, yes?"_ Variks asked in his native tongue, knowing now was as good a time as any to help the Guardian understand it fluently. His lower hands put the received Tokens in his pouch.

"They have, although I doubt it will do anything major."

 _"Sometimes, all it takes to bring down a wall is to chip away the stones."_

"Indeed," Fire let a _hmph_ of agreement.

 _"You will be fighting in the Prison, yes?"_

"Maybe. Lucks has a bounty on some raiders that have wandered too close the Archive, so I don't know how long it'll take."

 _"It has been a while since you put on a good show for us. Soon, it will be too long._ Goodbye, Guardian." Variks took a few steps back and bowed his head in respect.

Firewing did the same before he turned to leave. "See you later, Variks."

"Goodbye, Titan," The Cryptarch said while returning to his datapad.

"Yup," was all Lucks said as he moved to his team's rendezvous point. The engrams he got were decoded and he had his Ghost, Marcus, disassemble the rares. The chestplate may be of use to Triton. As he strolled down the walkway, he spotted Hurricane staring into the Reef.

"Hey, Hurricane," Lucks shouted out. The Awoken gave no sign of acknowledgment. Lucks tried again, but a bit louder. That worked.

"What?" He asked in a gruff voice while turning his head to look at the Titan.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the rest of my team in the Prison. Dmitri shot Aru'un in the face with Gjallarhorn. Now they're getting their rewards. Should be back within a minute." Hurricane stood up and stretched his arms before grabbing his shotgun.

Lucks looked on as a minute later, the Dragons transmatted into the Outpost, smiles on their faces. The three Titans were reconciling their newest moments.

"Krayt, you must be crazy to survive being smacked around by those Phalanxes," the steel gray one cajoled.

"His Force Barriers kept him alive in that game of ping pong," said the white and red Titan.

"Says the guy who punched the ogre in the face," the dark green warrior retorted.

The Dragons laughed as Hurricane came over and joined his team. Led by Dmitri, a heavy man and almost pyromaniac, they were one of the strongest hitting fireteams the Vanguard had. 20/20, the group's only Exo, was point-man, sniper, and medic. Krayt, another human, was an exceptional Defender and therefore, almost always the bait. But he loved it.

Fireteam Dragon also had their signature armor on. The closest comparison anyone could come up with was the Cabal's Colossus armor. The whole surface of their bodies was covered in thick plating, the only exceptions being joint areas. Dmitri only used his name when not in battle, but the red dragon motifs on his white armor made his nickname obvious. Krayt could pull off being mistaken for a smaller Dust Giant colossus, all he needed was a helmet. 20 was given the engrams and immediately dashed to the Cryptarch.

Triton came over and greeted the group with a smile. Well, as good as an Exo could smile. "I see you guys had a fun time. Krayt, you all right? You a little stunned."

"I'll be fine," the Titan responded, though his shaking head said otherwise.

"So, Tri, how is Winter?" Dmitri asked. He was a bit concerned when Fireteam Death had helped the Fallen House. However, their leader explained to them that Winter was no longer a threat to the City, at least for the time being.

"They're doing well. Exiles are still coming back, though at a much smaller pace."

"But we're still on the defensive," Firewing chimed in as he approached the group.

"Hmm. Well, if you want to, you three can come join us on Mars. We just got out of the Prison of Elders, and need to unwind," Krayt suggested, and received a disapproving glare from Hurricane, although it couldn't be seen from beneath his helmet.

"Sorry, but we are needed on Venus. Wolves have gotten too close to the Archive again," Lucks answered and pulled out Marcus. As he was transmatted to _Little Light_ , the two teams gave their goodbyes and the rest of Death departed.

"Your turn, Fire," Triton spoke over the comms.

"Yup. Ishtar Sink, Venus," He entered the coordinates and jumped to warp space, his team following _Ceres Galliot_. Firewing then went about to switch his cloak and colors.


	3. Chapter 3, Winter

Chapter 3: Winter

 _Ishtar Archives, Venus_

Skanas was forced to put his team behind cover. The Wolves had gotten the upper hand twice: surprise and the high ground. Now they had cut the Winter guards off from the Ishtar Archives. The dregs kept them from firing back while the raiders began their work.

The Winter Captain was well-known for his cleverness and care for those under his command, the latter something usually unheard of about Captains. Skanas heard a low hum over the loud shots from the shock pistols. Great. _They've got tripmines set up_ , he thought. A full-out assault to the building's second level would be suicide for his men. Reinforcements would most likely never come before the raiders completed their task. Winter just didn't have the manpower anymore.

The trio of ships dropped down outside the broken city of Ishtar, deposited their occupants, and rose to standard orbit. Firewing, usually one for uniform colors, had switched his Artic Proxy shader for the squad's. His whole body was covered in midnight black with red lightning strikes. The cloak that adorned his back had the sigil of Winter instead of Wolves. Fire always made sure to wear that whenever they landed on Venus.

"Off to the Archives, then," Lucks jingled from his helmet. He already brought out his sparrow and dashed to the ruins. His team quickly followed after him.

"We need to get there ASAP. Winter's pinned by those raiders." Firewing clearly had a no-nonsense attitude when he said that. Fortunately, Lucks slowed down enough so the Hunter could take the lead. They were doubly fortunate that the switch was complete before entering the city. Upon eyeing his cloak, the Fallen patrolling the safest way in immediately dashed to the sides, allowing the Fireteam through with no trouble.

When they got to the Archives, Triton saw the Wolves had been here for a good while. Tripmine lasers could be seen on the second floor. Scattered along the opposite side of the path were the Winter guards. A captain, two vandals, and two dregs were left. The rest were lying in front of the vault, dead.

" _About time someone came,_ " the captain shouted, anger in his deep voice.

"How many?" Triton asked.

" _At least six of the dogs. Only saw four dregs and two vandals._ "

With pinpoint precision, Fire threw a tripmine of his own. The stick landed on a second floor pillar with a dreg already in its laser. It let out a signature beep before exploding, blasting the dreg out of its position and onto the ground below.

"Lucks, you're up," Firewing said. Lucks immediately dashed out of their cover and up the stairs. He saw the look of shock on the Eliksni's faces before activating his Fist of Havoc.

All but one of the dregs were vaporized in the arc blast. Two vandals were wounded but still alive. Triton tossed a solar grenade at the survivors. The flare burst out of its containment and burned the dreg and a vandal to ashes. The last intruder had no time to react when Lucks slammed him into a wall and followed with a powerful right hook. The now dead Wolf tumbled down the stairs to land next to a doorway.

Ten minutes after the fight, the dead were cleared and Fireteam Death set up for guard duty. Before the fallen Winters were disposed of, Skanas knelt beside each comrade and bowed his head in respect. Unlike most other captains, he gave respect towards his underlings, who in turn gave him theirs. House Winter was much smaller than it once was, and they couldn't afford to have their numbers drop.

Skanas looked over to the Guardians that saved his team. The robed one, Warlock if his memory served him right, was obviously the leader. They were talking underneath those helmets, and the one that had the Winter cloak immediately brought his hand up. Body language told Skanas that he volunteered for something.

That was further supported as the man went over to an overlook position. The heavily armored Guardian disappeared as the Warlock came over to him. " _What do you want?_ " Skanas asked, failing to hide the bitterness about his dead men in his voice. His brows were furrowed with anger.

"Just wanted to tell you Firewing, our Hunter, will be staying for a while to help cover your losses."

Skanas' eyes burned with the mentioning of the dead. " _Fine._ " He growled. _Calm down_ , he thought. _This is not you._ " _As long as he stays out of my way. For now._ "

"All right, Captain." Triton felt now would be the best time to end this conversation. As they walked away from each other, the Warlock switched to his fireteam's comm channel. "Can you stay for an hour, Fire?"

"Yup. I need to get to the Prison later on. Promised Variks I'd be there before the day was out."

"All right. I'll be on the moon or at the Tower if you need me. Oh, and be careful."

"10-4 and out."

It had been half an hour since Triton left. Firewing had spent the first half of that time organizing his gear, the second half cleaning his weapons while keeping an eye out on the way into the Archives' entrance. Feeling some fatigue in his right arm, the Hunter started its maitenance.

He got his Ghost, Sundial, to remove his right guantlet. In place of the normal human arm people would expect was an Exo arm. Unlike Firewing's tan body, this prosthetic was as black as his squad shader, with the signature red lightning bolts traveling down to his hand. He removed a panel from the lower arm, followed by a dimmed, sky blue crystal. Putting that into a pouch, he pulled out one that was exactly like its predeccesor, except it had a sparkling energy to it.

He had placed it in when a Winter vandal came up behind him. Firewing wasn't startled; he saw the Eliksni pop up on his radar earlier. " _Do you mind if I join you?_ " The Fallen asked.

"Feel free." The Hunter mentally asked Sundial to translate his words while pressing the panel back into place. "Did your Captain send you up here?"

" _Yes. After he calmed down, Skanas told me to go to the overlook and relieve you._ " The vandal propped his wire rifle on his lower arms as he watched the entrance. " _A question before you leave. You sound like a human, but your arm is metal. Explanation?_ "

Firewing grunted as he rose. "Nothing much, really. Knight came out of nowhere and chopped my arm clean off. Knocked out when he backhanded my face. When I came to, I told Sundial here," he pointed at his Ghost, "to give an Exo arm."

" _Why would you want that? Surely it would have been better to regenerate your flesh and blood arm._ " The vandal inquired with a curious look in his left eyes.

"Yeah, but this thing has much more uses. Mods, tracking, energy storage, the works."

The vandal gave an acknowledging glance. " _Very well, then. Good luck, Hunter. If you come across House Wolves, tell them Kanisk says hello._ " Kanisk formed a devious smile under his mask.

Firewing laughed as he went. "I'll do that, Kanisk. Safe times." He spoke as he waved a salute. After he exited the area and turned left, Sundial dissolved into his head. "I think that went well. What about you, Sun?"

" **Agreed. Winter is fortunate to have Skanas and his team.** " The AI replied.

"They are. When we get home, can you try to bring up his profile?"

" **Why?** "

"Respect, worry, and hope in that order. Now let's get out here. I got a promise to keep." Firewing ordered as he was transmatted into his ship. _Prison of Elders, here I come.  
_ _ **(AN)**_ **So Skanas and Kanisk have entered the story. If you're interested in them, don't worry. They'll be back.**


	4. Chapter 4, Prison of Elders

Chapter 4: The Prison of Elders

 _Prison of Elders, Reef_

Firewing switched back to his Arctic Proxy armor shader before he got to the Reef. The Winter cloak had been left on just for provoking the Wolves. To know that a House that been brought under their control still lived would anger the Fallen to no end. The Hunter smirked at his plan as he was transmatted.

On his right was a Warlock, clad in Future War Cult's brilliant red and blue. She wielded Spare Change.25 with a solar fusion rifle on her back. A Titan was on Firewing's left, wearing The Crest of Alpha Lupi. He carried an auto rifle, but had his shotgun out. Matador 64. Their names were Amelia and Channel, respectively.

"Nice to have a Death member here," the Awoken woman spoke softly. She teased him. "Will it be theirs or yours, Hunter?"

"Theirs, obviously," Firewing retorted while pulling out Invective. He always used this in Darkness Zones. He looked over to the Titan. "Ready, Chan?"

The Exo scoffed. "That a joke or something?"

"Welcome, Guardians, to Prison of Elders. Fight! Win! Survive," Variks' voice boomed through the airlock.

Firewing looked at the four doors and randomly pointed at one. The shield propped next to it marked it as the Cabal. The door behind him opened to reveal a servitor. _Dang it._

"Vex drones, unfeeling death. They will try to kill you. Kill them back."

The servitor disappeared, allowing the trio enter the Vex prison cell. The Darkness in this cell was weaker than it usually was, but not by a lot. Airborne was active as the door closed behind them.

Firewing turned left while Amelia and Channel took the center, the destroyed Time Gate towering above them. Round one began and ended several minutes later, a few seconds wasted to kill a hiding goblin. The second round was tougher as a couple Minotaurs teleported in, but it was nothing serious. The final round, however, saw multiple Axis minotaurs and Hobgoblins. Their precise shooting forced Firewing to stay behind cover, go invisible, knife the cyborgs, and repeat.

Channel pulverized the last hobgoblin while his compatriots dashed to the exit. "Enemies die. You live. Well done." Overall, the match went very well. Firewing got over half of the kills at 38 dead vex. No one got their heads shot off by the Axis hobgoblins, which they all knew was rare.

"Save some for the rest of us next time," Channel complained as they took a quick break. He was still trying to reset his sensors after getting punched by an enraged minotaur.

"Says the Titan," Amelia said. She watched the Titan do his best to blast the Vex to smithereens at point blank range. The problem for him was that Fire had been the same thing, except the Hunter was destroying them as soon as they exited the doors.

"Round Two. Hive spawn claw their way towards your light. Kill them dead, Guardian."

"Oh, come on!" The Death member had been pointing at the door leading to the Wolves. While moving to the Hive's cell, he spoke with an evil tone. "Time to teach these things how to stay dead."

"Amen to that," Amelia agreed.

The first round went by quickly. Firewing expertly cut down the thrall with his scout rifle while knifing those that made it through. When the wizard came out, Channel unleashed an ungodly roar and ended it with a very strong punch to the face. Amelia used a nova bomb to wipe out a congregating group of acolytes.

"Destroy mines, or die. Your choice." Varik's voice carried through the cell as the first mine appeared. Right in front of an ogre.

"Crap" was all the Hunter said when Channel dropped a Fist of Havoc on the mine. The mine was destroyed, but the ogre survived and retaliated with its eye beam. Chan ran for cover as Firewing put a quarter of his magazine into the attacker, ending it. He quickly switched to Invective and smacked a knight coming up behind him with the barrel. The knight stumbled as the barrel was brought around to point at its face. "Adios, sucker." The knight quickly burned to ashes and vanished.

Despite Channel getting killed from a wizard's arc blasts, the rest of the fight was a win. Amelia almost made it through without dying until a cursed thrall crept up behind her. On instinct, Firewing shot the Hive. The resulting explosion threw the Warlock's body into a rock face. In the airlock, he was met with a backhand and a glare from Amelia.

This time, the Hunter got it right. "Been waiting for this since I got back from Venus."

"Why?" Channel asked.

"Promised a friend I'd tell them he said hello." Firewing pointed at his cloak for the obvious hint.

Amelia and Channel looked at the cloak, then at each other. In perfect unison, Firewing's statement was responded with "Figures."

Seconds after they entered the massive room, Fire pulled out Sundial. When the first Wolf Eliksni entered, he shouted, "Kanisk says hello, Wolf dogs." After Sundial translated it, everyone turned their heads to look at him.

Three seconds passed, then Sundial proudly stated, " **They're all yours,** " before disappearing.

Firewing watched as the Eliksni were starting to ignore Amelia and Channel and instead focusing on him. "Crap." The Fallen screeched and began to chase the insulting Hunter around the area.

The other Guardians viewed the spectacle with unbelieving faces. Channel spoke first. "Did that just happen?"

"Yep." Amelia's voice had the same tone of shock.

"Should we help him?"

"No." Channel turned to face Amelia after she said her words. A vengeful grin appeared under her helmet. "I'll consider this my revenge. Come on." She then jumped up onto a post and sat down. Channel followed and sat on the opposite pillar. They watched as their comrade ran from the Fallen horde, occasionally stopping to take out a few chasers.

"You guys gonna help?" He called out between breathes.

"Nope," Amelia responded sternly.

"Chan?"

"Not my problem."

It took seven minutes before the first round was complete. Amelia stood up and stretched while Channel laid back and turned off his optics. Firewing just pressed his palms against the wreckage of a plane and tried to slow his breathing down.

"Fallen reinforcements incoming. Mines must be dismantled. Or death." Variks' voice could not come at a more inopportune moment for the cyborg Hunter; he had just got his heartbeat down. Even worse, Sundial came out and, having recorded the words his Guardian shouted earlier, screeched the insult.

 _Sundial, I am so going to kill you_. Fire let out a whimper as he once again led the Wolves in a series of laps. Amelia laughed at his expense and immediately went to disabling the mines. Channel turned himself off and did nothing to help.

After the last mine of the round was gone, Amelia went back to her original spot and took a short nap. Variks' annoucement woke her up as Channel raised his head. Over Sundial's screech, she told the Titan it was his turn to take of the mines.

"Fine," Channel said, followed by a sigh.

Amelia turned her head to see Firewing undergoing his ordeal for what he hoped would be his last time. She drifted back to sleep as Channel started to disable the first mine.  
_

When she awoke, they were all in the airlock. Channel was leaning against the Cabal door, laughing at their Hunter friend. Fire was sitting down, head and arms propped against his knees. She could hear a muffled "I will never insult another Eliksni as long as I live" from under his helmet. "Oh, shut up" followed two seconds afterwards. She had no choice but to join her Exo companion in his ridiculing.

Firewing got up onto his feet before the Cabal door opened, dropping Channel into the servitor. The Fallen tech didn't even move.

"Warbeasts of the Cabal rise to the Challenge. Fight! Win! Live." The Hunter groaned as Lightswitch appeared in his HUD for a second. Last one was Trickle, and he did not need that in the previous round. The one before that was Specialist. _Why did the Cabal get such an advantage?_

Amelia smirked as they entered the Broken Legion's cell. "What, no insults or name calling this time?"

A tired "Shut up" was his response as she laughed. The Death Hunter just set up in front of one of the doors with Invective. The match ended not as quickly for Firewing or Amelia as it did for Channel. The Titan ended up getting smacked upwards by a phalanx and into the ceiling. His corpse stuck up there for a second before coming back down. Taking positions for the second round after she forced Fire to revive Channel, Amelia waited with her Gjallarhorn for the targeted Centurion.

The Cabal commander didn't last a full second when he entered the cell. Immediately incinerated by the rocket, the wolfpack rounds hunted down the others. Channel got hit again, this time cracking the Harvester's hull.

The third and final match was exactly the same, with the exception of Fire getting turned into a squashed sandwich. When he was revived, he muttered something unintelligible as he stomped to the airlock.

"Final round." The Vex door opened. _At least it's not the Fallen_ , the Hunter thought. When the fight began, he took his self-chosen role of keeping the drones off his companions. The Overmind Minotaur was quickly defeated, surprisingly, but not after each Guardian lost his or her life once. Amelia and Channel got hit in the face by the giant's torch blasts, while Firewing was shot down by an Axis hobgoblin.

After returning to the airlock, the hunter retuned his light energy to Gunslinger. Variks called out. "House Judgement honors you, champions. You have won." The airlock's floor opened up. "Treasure waits below, Guardians."

They made their way to the Crystal Barrows, waiting for Channel to come down. Firewing gave way for Amelia as she approached the Queen's chest. "Ladies first."

Amelia looked at him before opening the Chest with her key. Her rewards were a key to replace the used one, Her Mercy, and an exotic engram. The last one shocked everybody.

Firewing went next. He got multiple strange coins and motes of light with... He fell to the floor as he lost his balance. The hunter got back up and pulled out Icebreaker. His laughs came out in breaths as he held the sniper rifle close to his body. "I've been looking for this weapon for at least three months."

Channel nudged past the breath-taken cyborg and put in his treasure key. The Titan smiled with joy at his companions before turning back to the chest. The glimmer transformed itself into several strange coins and a teddy bear. Channel rebooted his optics to make sure what he saw was real. The teddy bear rose out of the chest as a little girl's laugh emenated from somewhere before both vanished.

"What. The. ..." The Titan was speechless. Amelia and Firewing broke out into uncontainable laughter as their ghosts returned them to their ships.

"You totally deserved that nonsense," Firewing managed to get out before laughing again.

"Just shut up." The response was overflowing with exasperation when they set course for the Vestian Outpost.  
_

 _Vestian Outpost, Reef_

When the group arrived, Guardians were everywhere. It became obvious the large majority of them had spectated the whole run. Lucks came walking out of a laughing group. "Hahaha, nice run, brother. Literally."

Firewing approached the Titan in turn. Lucks expertly dodged the punch the Hunter threw at him, but got caught in a hug. Firewing spoke as he patted his friend on the back. "It was worth it. Sun." Icebreaker appeared in Firewing's hands as some of the crowd whistled in surprise.

"I'd say it was."

Fire let go and turned to Amelia and Channel. "It was a pleasure to fight with you two," He spoke as they shook hands.

"Fight? No, that was me carrying you," Channel quiped before taking an elbow from Amelia.

"More like him carrying you," She retorted at the Titan. The Awoken looked at the cyborg Hunter. "Thank you." Amelia then turned to go to the Outpost's Cryptarch. "By the way, we're even now."

Firewing called out after her. "No, we're not. You owe me at least one."

"Match for a match, Hunter," Amelia said, walking away.

"She got you there, Red Lightning," A Guardian said before returning to orbit. The crowd dispersed within the minute.

"I saved the footage you asked for, Lucks," Marcus broke the silence as he came out of the Titan.

"Footage?" The Death Hunter asked.

"Yeah. Your run in the Prison and of what just happened," Lucks chuckled before transmatting to his ship.

"You little..." Firewing growled before returning to _Ceres Galliot_.

 **(AN)- Hoped you liked this chapter. If you have been noticing, I try to put in references to other entertainment. Some may obscure, but most are out there. To extend the disclaimer, I do not own any of the things the references come from. I only own the OCs unless otherwise stated.**

 **And yes, Airborne is just there. I haven't done PoE in a while.**


	5. Chapter 5, Dragons of Mars

Chapter 5: Dragons of Mars

 _The Buried City, Mars_

It had been a tough fight, but they managed to get the stolen Interceptor through Firebase Rubicon and into Freehold. Once the Vex inside were cleared, the vehicle was slowly directed to a workshop. The group sealed the doors and went to work.

"You sure you can get that thing upgraded, Hurricane?" Dmitri asked.

The Awoken gruffly responded, "Upgrade, yes. How much depends on what you want."

"Goliath," Krayt immediately offered.

"I'm not a miracle worker."

Dmitri and 20 chuckled at their fireteam. The gray Titan went outside to get an Axis bounty completed. He managed to drop a few Vex inside the OWT building with his Geo-D6 before turning right to kill a patrolling hobgoblin. Once the Hollows were emptied of Axis Vex, 20/20 returned to the workshop.

Although he'd been gone for fifteen minutes, Hurricane was cleaning up whatever spare parts he hadn't used yet. The Interceptor hovering before the team no longer had its rocket tubes. Instead, heavy bolt cannons were in their place. Somehow, the Awoken mechanic and pilot managed to get the original rocket launchers into the vehicle's front.

"You did a fine job, Hurricane," Krayt complemented, "as always."

"This is nothing, and you know that," the Hunter said.

"How many did Colossi did I have to take down just to get enough parts to repair two bolt cannons?" Dmitri asked out loud.

"Three, brother. Don't try to increase that number," 20 pointed out.

Dmitri smiled at his squad when Krayt spoke, "Yeah, that is nothing compared to this. Time for a test drive." The green titan walked over to the Interceptor.

"Nope. I do the honors," Hurricane said as he stopped Krayt, "unless you think you can squeeze into the pilot's seat with that Colossus armor on." The Awoken jumped onto the seat and started up the miniature tank. "We're going to have fun with this."

 _Tower, Earth_

The sun was setting when Firewing and Lucks landed. Everything was bathed in a golden orange light. Some Guardians were around, looking at the bounty board or getting Master Rahool to decrypt engrams. Whoever wasn't doing that was relaxing or talking with the different faction leaders.

"Where is Triton?" Firewing asked as he looked for their team's Warlock.

" **Hangar lounge,** " Marcus spoke up. The two made their way to the hangar.

Triton was seated on the couch with a datapad in his hands. "Evening, team," he evenly said when the Hunter and Titan arrived. The Warlock offered the device. Firewing took it and scanned through it before giving it to Lucks. "New mission."

"Mars. What a coincidence," Fire stated. They all knew the Dragons were there.

"Wouldn't Dmitri be able to do it?" Lucks asked, thinking the same thing as the Hunter.

"This is for Winter, which is why this is off the records," Triton answered. "They've already documented almost everything in the Ishtar Archives. Freehold is the one information hub they can't get to."

"'Cuz of the Cabal," Firewing interrupted.

Triton nodded his head in response. "Yes. Clovis Bray should have a few things Winter can use to get their defenses back up."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Tri?" Lucks asked again.

"As long as we stay away from Charlemagne, we should be good. Any more questions? No? Then let's move."

Fireteam Death got to their ships and went to orbit. _Why do I have a bad feeling about this_ , Lucks thought to himself. Triton put in the coordinates for Mars and gave the order to jump.

When they landed, Death took a few minutes to set up. Firewing switched back to his squad shader, but replaced his Winter cloak with a Dead Orbit one. Choosing Zero Point LOTP, the Hunter made sure Invective and his Pax Totalus were full of ammo. Along with his PoE boots and chestplate, he had his Dead Light Covers and Khepri's Sting on.

Lucks did the same, making sure he was flying Dead Orbit colors. He had Silmar's Wrath equipped, with Her Benevolence on his back and Against All Odds on standby. Helm of Inmost Light was on his head, with Prison gear covering the rest.

Triton donned his black and silver dotted colors. Bad Juju was by his side with Techeun Force. The Culling was ready to be summoned by Keith. He wore Obsidian Mind with armor augmenting his Intellect and Strength.

"Everyone set?" he asked. The two others gave a firm "Yes, sir." They pulled out their Sparrows and set off for Freehold.

Krayt was laughing heartily as the Dragons assaulted the Giant's Pass. His personal grenade rifle and their Interceptor's bolt cannons kept the remaining Cabal behind what cover they had. Unfortunately for the alien military, there were only four Psions, a Phalanx, and a Legionnaire left.

The fireteam worked in perfect unison. When the green Titan had to reload, 20 and Dmitri put down suppressive fire. They stopped as soon as Krayt began firing again. The bolt cannons never stopped firing.

Five minutes into the slaughter, two Harvesters came in, rocket launchers already firing. Krayt moved to Hurricane and erected a Ward of Dawn around his Interceptor. Missiles still blazing, the dropships deployed their troops.

Normally, the sight of not one, but four Imperial Colossi with heavy support to boot would have Guardians either retreating or calling in backup. Fireteam Dragon only laughed at the amount of troops that were thrown against them.

Krayt spoke between laughs, "Seriously? I thought we were worth more than four Colossi, five Centurions, twenty Legionnaires and Phalanxes, and ten Psions."

20 merely stated, "Last time they threw a Goliath at us. But that only had two colossi and twenty other units."

"So? We still went through them like a knife through butter," Dmitri claimed. "We can take on a Goliath with this crowd."

As if to challenge him on that claim, two more Harvesters came in, each carrying a Goliath tank. One was deployed with the reinforcements on the high ground, while the other was dropped at the pass entrance. The Dragons were completely boxed in.

Hurricane slowly exhaled before looking at his leader. "You just had to say that. Krayt, how much longer will this thing stay up?"

He answered, "Another twelve seconds."

20 stared at Dmitri. "Sir, you have the honors."

The white and red Titan merely cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers. He took a view of the Cabal army before pushing his right hand up into the air. Just as the shield went down, he dropped it onto the sandy terrain with all his power.

The ground around the team rose up and spread like a tidal wave. As it went farther and farther from the epicenter, the quake increased in strength and sent multiple Cabal flying. The Imperial Colossi were just far enough away to not get hurt, although one stumbled. A few seconds later and the pass went to hell as fire was exchanged from three points.

Death had gotten off their sparrows when the ground shook. Sand shifted from the buildings as they looked at each other in bewilderment.

Lucks was the first to speak, "What was that?"

"Either one of two things," Triton answered, "The Cabal just tested a new weapon or that was Dragon."

Firewing chimed in, "Or it was both. Anyways, let's get to the Cortex."

They entered the Dust Palace and fought their way to the top. When they got to the Cortex, Keith, Marcus, and Sundial went to work. " **Try not to get too close to Rasputin and Charlemagne, Keith,** " Sundial advised.

Keith retorted, " **Worry about yourself, Sun.** "

Firewing and Triton listened as their Ghosts argued. "This is why I hate this collecting," the former said.

"At least Marcus knows not to join in," Triton replied before hearing said AI trying to stop his friends. "I stand corrected."

Firewing groaned. This was going to take a long while.

Hurricane was beyond mad when his Interceptor was blown out from underneath him. He avenged its destruction with multiple throwing knives, all of them hitting their marks. The very angry Hunter pulled out his golden gun and shot a Goliath. Already severely damaged, the tank exploded and pushed the three remaining Colossi forward. A few Phalanxes fell, shrapnel embedded into their suits.

20 had vaporized a group of Legionnaires and Phalanxes with a Fist of Havoc. There were now three Imperial... Bang. Two Imperial Colossi left with a Centurion, a Legionnaire, two Phalanxes, a lone Psion, and an immobilized Goliath. Krayt set his personal shield into the ground while his squadmates tackled the Goliath. He protected them from the Colossi; they protected him from the tank.

The Awoken Hunter launched a tripmine grenade at the two Phalanxes. Their corpses were launched into the air shortly after. Dmitri cut through the tank with a normal Fist of Havoc, thankfully. Krayt shot down the retreating Legionnaire and subsequently hunted down the Psion. The Colossi slowly moved back, quickly chattering.

A loud _BOOM_ erupted from somewhere in the distance. 20 heard the roar and yelled out, "Move! Move!"

The artillery shell landed in the center of Giants' Pass and exploded. Krayt managed to join his friends in the closest bunker available, but not before he was pushed forward by the blast. When the dust settled, Dmitri popped his head out to survey the damage. A massive crater spanned the pass from the overlook positions to a few meters behind where the forward Phalanxes would be.

"Get off of me!" a muffled voice yelled behind him. Hurricane was pinned underneath Krayt, who slowly managed to roll off the Hunter with a groan.

20/20 checked everyone for injuries. Krayt said he was fine, but a shot of pain went through his back when he tried to get up. "Me, the Dragon's Scales, knocked out of the fight with a back injury," he complained.

"Just shut up and let me administer the painkiller," the medic responded.

Hurricane came out and walked to Dmitri. "No more races through here anymore. People may just have to start going through Rubicon to get to the Valley of the Kings."

"And we all know how much everyone hates that spot," Dimitri answered. He found the bodies of the two Colossi that called in the shot. The cracks in the rock face told him all their bones broke from the impact. "Ghost."

The AI came out, " **Yes?** "

"I need you to put a sign over those cracks."

His Ghost immediately knew what Dmitri was doing. " **What do you want it to say?** "

"Here lies two brave soldiers of the Dust Giants. They sacrificed themselves to stop us. We live, but we respect these warriors. I am proud to have fought against them." Dmitri bowed his head to honor the fallen.

" **Done. I started a Guardian distress signal on the Cabal communications channels only.** "

Hurricane moved forward as 20 and Krayt joined him. They read the tribute and followed their commander. They gave a quick salute before going back to the Scablands. The Dragons walked out, not getting on their sparrows until they passed the nearby Vex conflux.

Fifteen minutes passed after the signal was sent. The Siege Dancers' dropship lowered towards the ground and deployed its passengers. The Squad leader, Bracus Ta'aan, ran over to the the signal's origin. There were no Guardians around, but a message was scrawled over two fallen Imperial Colossi.

Sto'org and R'han. Ta'aan knew these brothers while they were stationed in his Primus' base. An accompanying Psion translated the words. The Bracus already knew who did the carnage before the brothers ordered the artillery shot. The four-man Guardian team known as the Dragons. The Destroyers of Mars.

" **Alright, I've got everything,** " Sundial said before disappearing.

Firewing woke up and stretched while saying, "About dang time."

Lucks made a quip at the Hunter's expense, "How did you sleep through that artillery blast?"

"What blast?"

"Come on, brothers, let's go," Triton ordered. "The Dragons deserve a visit after what I think they've been through today."

 **(AN) - Sorry about the wait, guys. Had this chapter saved on another device. Besides that mishap, hope you liked this chapter. Yes, Ta'aan won't be a random character, he does serve as an interesting... rival, shall I say.**

 **For any of you fellow Destiny fanfictioners, please feel free to use my OCs in my stories (As long as they are credited as mine).**

 **Keep on keepin' on and stay strong.**


	6. Chapter 6, Cooldown

Chapter 6: Cooldown

When the Dragons returned to their hideout, Death was already waiting. The two teams just stared at each other, one with exhaustion, the other recognition. For Krayt's sake, the inactivity lasted a few seconds before Dmitri let everyone in. The green Titan's Ghost offered to fix his injuries, but he decided against it.

"So do you mind explaining what happened to you four?" Firewing asked.

20, still fixing up his squadmate, answered, "Tested out Hurricane's new Interceptor. Our playing around brought two boatloads of Dust Giants with a couple Goliaths to boot." Krayt grimaced as a piece of shrapnel was pulled out of his lower back. "We got first strike. Took us a while, but we managed to drop everything to two Imperial Colossi before they called in an arty shot. Happy ending."

"Except Krayt there had his shield on the front, instead of his back," Hurricane quipped. Dmitri stared at him like the Hunter was replaced with a replica. But they all knew he was just dealing with stress.

Dmitri quickly changed the subject, "So what are you doing here? My offer still stands, despite our most recent _challenge_."

"That was barely a fight," the green Titan pridefully boasted.

20 scoffed, "If it was, I don't want see what happens to you in an actual battle."

"Just shut up and get rid of the shrapnel. Auughh!"

"All done," the Exo said after he pulled out the final piece.

Death chuckled at the banter before Lucks answered Dmitri's question. "Had a mission. Information recovery. Nothing much." The Titan started to whistle nervously.

"Uh huh," was all the Dragon said, knowing it was the truth, just not all of it. He could easily see where it was going. "Winter?"

"Winter," Triton confirmed, nodding his head.

"If you got caught by Charlemagne, you're on your own. No sense dragging my team down with something that ain't my business."

"Understood," Firewing stated. A thought ran through his head. "How about some sparring when we get back?"

Hurricane rejoined the conversation, "Individual, mixed, or team?"

"Team, obviously. Krayt can't do anything until his wounds heal _without_ his Ghost's help." Fire shot a look at the human.

"I can still fight with one arm," Krayt jabbed, before sliding off the table. He immediately regretted it as pain flared up in his back.

"And you're downed with a back injury," Lucks let out.

"No point standing and sitting around if we're going to do this," Hurricane spoke impatiently as he brought his Ghost. Seconds later, he was in his ship. The other six Guardians followed suit.

 _The Burning Shrine, Mercury_

After stopping at the Tower to pick up their Crucible gear, Death and Dragon, sans Krayt, set out to Mercury. Triton was a few minutes late, having dashed off to the lounge. They listened to the Hunters' argument as they waited for the Warlock. Both fireteams loved visiting the Burning Shrine, and their leaders agreed to a single elimination match.

Decidng to wear the Bones of Dire Ahamkara as his exotic, Hurricane used Prison armor to help with his throwing knives and tripmines. 20/20 wore his Kellslayer outfit except the Crest of Alpha Lupi spanned his chest, further signifying his role as medic. Dmitri donned Kabr's armor and had his Helm of Inmost Light on. Both Titans focused on speeding up their Fists of Havoc and punches.

Triton stuck with Voidwalker and Obsidian Mind, knowing that Dmitri always stuck around when the Warlock was killed. Lucks kept his Helm of Saint-14 and regular armor on, switching only his weapons to access Thunderlord. Firewing only did some finetuning, as he used roughly the same gear in Crucible and the Prison of Elders. Khepri's Sting was left on, but the Hunter stuck to being a Gunslinger.

The first round ended abruptly when Hurricane's throwing knife landed in front of Firewing's face. The cyborg turned left only to have a second knife fly into his forehead.

Second round, Triton and Dmitri got themselves killed when the former unleashed a nova bomb at point blank range. Firewing became a wall ornament again from a trio of throwing knives. The Dragon Hunter jumped in the air to get moving, but was instantly shot from a sniper round.

"You're fast, but not that fast, 'Cane," Lucks quipped before another shot forced his corpse off his perch.

"Nor are you as wise, Lucks," 20 calmly spoke, making the scores 2-0.

Round three ended with Triton getted rammed into a pillar. The next two ended in Death's favor as their Titan secretly latched a magnetic grenade on 20's back and Firewing finally beat Hurricane at his own game. The subsequent fight landed the score at 4-2. It was soon tied at 4-4 when both Dragon and Death decided to let the Hunters decide the victor.

They gathered around as Hurricane and Fire stood back to back. "Here are the rules!" Triton yelled out. "You will stand 50 paces away from each other. If any of you two fire without my order, the opposite fireteam automatically wins. Your turn, Dmitri."

Said Titan took over. "Both of you will have Combustion on your golden guns. To make things even more interesting and more fair, both of you put your hands on top of your head."

Both Hunters grumbled, but did what they were told. Lucks started up a very old gunslinger ballad. Red Lightning said to his squadmate, "Are you trying to make us lose?"

"Just setting the mood, bro."

When they got to 50 paces, they turned around to face each other.

 _There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play._

"Now!" Both team leaders shouted in unison.

 _And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today._

 _Texas Red had not cleared leather 'fore a bullet fairly ripped,_

 _And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip._

 **(AN) - There you are, guys. Hope you liked this chapter, and kudos to anyone who got the reference to** ** _Hot Lead and Cold Feet_** **. Standard disclaimer applies: I only own my OCs. Any other game or entertainment referenced in this fanfic belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next chapter will feature Ta'aan and introduce his lackeys. Stay strong.**


	7. Chapter 7, Rivalries

Chapter 7: Rivalries

Everyone, both spectators and combatants, felt like their eyes deceived them. Red Lightning and Hurricane had fired at the same time. The Awoken and humans simply gazed in hope and fear while calculations and imagery were passing through the Exos' processors.

The Death Hunter fired his Golden Gun shot at the Awoken's foot, the latter already pointing his own weapon at the former's chest, his shot a few milliseconds behind. Both shots hit their targets simultaneously, two Ghosts popping up a second later.

Shutting off the ending ballad, Lucks was the first to break the silence, "Did that just happen?" Everyone nodded an affirmative.

"Now what do we do?" Dmitri bluntly asked.

A small moment of silence was broken by Triton. "Titan versus Titan."

20 gave his immediate support, "Strikers, juggernaut, same distance, and first to kiss the dirt loses." While the Dragon Exo recalibrated his Light, Lucks was given all the attention.

"Fine," he grumbled.

It wasn't long before the tie-breaker was reset and the Guardians followed their Hunter brethren. The signal was given and 20/20 and Lucks rocketed towards each other, their juggernaut shields forming. The next everyone else saw was a Titan still running with his opponent steamrolled into the ground.

When the dust settled, Lucks was sitting on the ground far to Dmitri's right, as 20 just laid in front of Triton, staring at the blinding sky. The two leaders helped the fellow Dragon up, Lucks slowly following.

"No mistake that time," the white-and-red Titan said to his team medic, "you got bulldozed." He turned to the Warlock. "Triton, I concede the match to you." His hand shot out to meet with Triton's. A firm handshake and reviving the humbled Hunters found them heading to the Tower a minute later.

* * *

When they landed, the plaza was unusually full of Guardians. The new group knew they had watched the Crucible match. Within seconds, everyone was talking over the results. Most were happy to see both teams in action; others were not as overjoyed since they lost several bets.

Firewing tried to sneak away, but got caught by Amelia and Channel. _Karma's got me today_. He did his best to cover the exhaustion in his voice as he greeted them, "Amelia. Channel. Surprised to see you two here."

The Awoken Warlock merely scoffed, "Had to do some work for Ikora. We were just about to leave when you showed up."

"Uh-huh. Let me guess, that was finished half an hour ago and you stayed to watch our match."

"Yup," Channel confirmed. His reward was an elbow in the gut from Amelia.

Firewing merely smirked, "Amelia, I didn't know you had feelings for me." He moved his hand over his heart.

She gave a frown. "Oh, please. I'd sooner kiss an Exo." Channel looked at her with a bit of hurt.

"Like you haven't done that already." The Hunter was immediately slapped in the face.

The Titan threw his hands in the air, "I don't want any part of this." He backed off to the hangar.

"Smooth moves, Red Lightning," A mottled-brown Hunter said as he approached the bickering group, slowly clapping. Firewing gave a tired groan as he rubbed his forehead.

"Ryyk, leave me alone." The last thing he wanted was to run into the Bladedancer. He was wearing a full set of New Monarchy gear with a Kings' Cloak draped over his back. More often than not, people did their best to avoid his ego.

"What? And miss the family reunion here?" Ryyk let out a chuckle as Amelia gave him her _'I will kill you'_ look. "Really, you two make a great couple." He was given two simultaneous punches in the face for that remark. "My point exactly."

A nearby Warlock glanced at the three Guardians. "Lovebird alert."

Firewing retorted with a hostile glare, "I don't have time for this. See you later." _Get me out of here, Sundial._

"I know I will." Ryyk was punched yet again.

* * *

 _Fireteam Death's Quarters, The Last City_

Somehow, Lucks managed to get home before Firewing did. The Exo was laying down on the couch, waving his hand in tune with the music coming from his helmet. Firewing walked over to the kitchen area, Sundial popping out along the way.

"Alright, Sun. What do we have on Skanas?" The Hunter spoke while preparing a sandwich.

" **Let's see. Skanas, Winter Guard. One of the few Fallen that did not bow to Skolas during his** ** _uniting_** **of the Houses.** "

"That's a good trait; loyalty." He put away the leftover foodstuffs and cut his dinner.

" **He has been offered a promotion to Baron twice, but refused both times.** "

"Odd," Firewing said around a bite of meat. Most Eliksni would jump at the opportunity to increase their status.

" **Yes. Apparently, Skanas cares about the lives of his men deeply.** "

"That would explain his mood when he and I talked," Triton interrupted. The human and his Ghost merely turned to look at him. "I'd say those two Fallen were his team's first losses in quite a while."

"Makes sense," Lucks chimed in, still moving his hand.

"How would you know? You weren't there," Firewing barked.

The Titan tapped his nearby helmet, "Video feed, guys."

He finished his sandwich. "Whatever. I'm getting my sleep." The Hunter walked off to his room.

* * *

 _Firebase Epsilon, Meridian Bay_

The Harvester landed and Ta'aan's team disembarked. He was seething in anger. The Destroyers had hit again and he was too late. Giant's Pass was in ruins, meaning a reconstruction team would be out there, if they haven't left already.

The door in front of him opened to reveal his two lieutenants, Ar'kug and Qe'bre. Both were legionnaires, but held a high status in Epsilon. Ar'kug donned his superior's legion colors; his compatriot wearing the Blind Legion's white. Both gave a stiff salute.

"Sir, what happened out there?" Qe'bre asked first. Ta'aan glared at him through his helmet. "Sorry, sir." He took a step back.

The Centurion turned to Ar'kug, "Has a reconstruction team left yet?"

"No, sir. We were waiting for you to come back with the damage report."

Ta'aan growled, "Rkife should have it. Find him, get your team together, and get out there."

Ar'kug gave another salute. "Yes sir." He walked off to find the Psion.

"Qe'bre, I want you to take a Sand Eater squad to Freehold. Find their hideout." The Legionnaire was about to say something, but was cut off. "I don't care how you do it, just get it done."

"Yes sir."

Ta'aan turned around to see Ar'kug climbing onboard a Harvester, the engineers already inside. The lieutenant saw his superior and gave a farewell salute before his vessel took off. He waited until the Harvester was out of his sight, then went inside. He grabbed a nearby Psion and told him, "Tell Rubicon they're on stand-by until further notice." The messenger nodded and dashed off.

* * *

 **(AN) - There you are, guys. Hope you liked it.**

 **Now I have some stuff to say about Epsilon. It's set as the primary base for the Seige Dancers in the area and therefore has a crap-ton of defenses. AA, long range artillery, mortars, the works. And sitting on top of it all is a really ticked off Centurion.**

 **Do feel free to comment guys. Oh, a shoutout to SonofForossa, who has done a very good job with the Cabal. I suggest you read both of his stories and give him a like.**

 **That's all for now, folks. See you next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8, Preemptive Strike

Chapter 8: Preemptive Strike

* * *

 _BAM! BAM! BAM!_ "Fire, get up." Triton pounded on the door.

Firewing groaned and buried his face in his pillow. "Five more minutes..."

"We've got a bounty and now is the best time to do it."

"Ugh. Let me sleep. Yesterday was a busy-"

"Xyor." The Warlock breathed. From outside, he heard a _THUMP_ and the door opened a few seconds later. If their Hunter was still tired, he wasn't showing it.

"When?" The question was serious in tone.

Triton quickly replied, "A few hours ago."

The door closed. When it reopened, he was dressed in his gear, a hand cannon strapped on his thigh and Invective in his hands. "What are we waiting for?" Firewing asked. Triton didn't reply before his brother pushed past him and brought out Sundial.

Keith appeared. " **Time to leave.** " The Exo readied Bad Juju and nodded.

He met Lucks and Fire in orbit. Lucks was getting impatient. As soon as the coordinates were chosen, the Titan blasted off to the moon. _The others can catch up._

* * *

 _The Buried City, Freehold_

Knowing that there was _almost_ no such thing as overkill, Qe'bre brought two Sand Eater squads with him. It was a good choice. The extra firepower brought down the nearby Vex forces quickly.

But it still took them an hour to find the hideout. A heavily locked door was the first clue. Two legionnaires from Squad-2 spent three minutes trying to blast through the barrier before the Squad-1 psion hacked a nearby console. The embarrassed soldiers glared at the psion while the others chuckled.

"This is definitely the Destroyers' Lair," one Cabal said as they filed through the wide corridors. Squad-1 took the right side; Squad-2 had the left.

"Really? What gave you that idea?" The Squad-2 psion deadpanned.

The Squad-1 psion from earlier spoke up, "Was it the massive door from earlier? Or is it these hallways?"

"Shut it." The Squad-2 centurion ordered.

They reached another barrier after several turns. Remon reprised his role as the hacker. "Great. Randomizing encryption. This will take a while." The psion immediately set to work.

Toncu laughed at his compatriot. "So you can take on any panel, as long is it doesn't switch every minute?"

"Just be quiet and let me work." He nodded at the others. "Might as well get comfy."

Qe'bre growled, "Defensive positions. Phalanxes in front." A shieldbearer muttered something. "What was that?"

"Nothing, sir."

The legionnaire huffed. "That's what I thought."

* * *

The group of knights was blasted into oblivion by a nova bomb. Triton's kill streak lengthened when he scored multiple precision shots on the supporting acolytes. Lucks was punching any Hive that was close enough. Firewing kept the upper levels clear with Invective.

" **Almost there.** " Sundial reported.

The third and final wave of Hive washed onto the Guardians. The Hunter spotted Mormu, Xol Spawn being accompanied by her entourage of two hallowed wizards. He dropped onto the first floor, bringing out his Golden Gun along the way. "Always delighted to burn you, _witch_."

Mormu screamed as the single shot tore through her. Firewing's Celestial Nighthawk poured his power into one shot. That one shot could almost drop any opponent; any survivors were dropped with a rocket or a burst of machine gun fire.

This time, it was Thorn that made the finishing shot. Firewing smirked for a second before focusing on the other hive. Going back to Invective, he killed the remaining wizards.

" **Done,** " Sundial said. He transmatted into his Guardian.

The chamber below was quickly cleared of its inhabitants. Lucks, having kept his Striker class from yesterday, steamrolled the massive ogre. The fireteam didn't even flinch at Phogoth's roar. They have heard it so many times it was expected.

They burst through the Circle of Bones, cleansing it of everything. Triton drained one of the hallowed knights, allowing Firewing to carve it up. Lucks slammed the other through the barrier and into the endless pit below.

The Warlock stepped in front of the door and turned to his brothers-in-arms. "This is what we've been waiting for. This time, we will finally put our brother's soul to rest. This time, we will finally have our vengeance. You know the plan: draw Xyor out and kill her." He brought his hand out, palm down, towards Lucks and Firewing. "For Samson."

"For Samson," Lucks returned and placed his hand on Triton's.

"For Samson." Firewing put his hand on the Titan's.

"Through battle," The Warlock chanted.

"Through fire," The other Exo continued.

"Through ice," Red Lightning said.

"Through death!" They shouted and ran to end Xyor, the Unwed.

* * *

"Is he done yet?" A Squad-1 legionnaire asked for the tenth time in four minutes.

"Shut up." The soldier next to him, S'iaan, deadpanned.

The first legionnaire didn't say anything. _Finally, some actual peace an-_

"Is he done yet?"

S'iaan growled in anger and stomped off to Remon and Toncu. "Please tell me you cracked it."

"Almost got it," Remon voiced with anticipation. "And... Oh come ON!" The psion smacked the panel. "Blasted reset."

S'iaan chuckled. "Let me help." He shoved Remon away and... smashed the panel with his rifle.

"You idiot." The psion got back up. "You moroni-"

The door slid open to reveal the Destroyers' Lair. Toncu smirked at the stunned psion. "You were about to say something?"

Qe'bre pushed past the group. "You all know what to do. Tear it up or blow it up!" Half the force went in and began crushing the equipment.

* * *

The trio took cover behind a large rock in the back of the Summoning Pits. Now that Phogoth couldn't touch them, their focus shifted to the Hive soldiers encamped across the pit. A tombship came out of a portal and moved to the landing pad.

"Please tell me this is the third one." Firewing complained. "I am getting tired of these..." _BLAM!_ "flipping..." _BLAM!_ "knights!" _BLAM!_ Said knight disintegrated from the third bullet.

Lucks popped his head out to look. "Nope. Don't see her- WHOAA!" A thrall jumped on top of him and clawed at his back. The Titan threw it off and crushed its chest. He then put a few rounds through its head.

"Always make sure its dead," Triton spoke. Five bursts of fire later, Phogoth was alone once again. _Three, two, one._ He jumped over the rock and unleashed another nova bomb.

"That didn't do anything," The Hunter growled. "Let me show you how it's done, Voidwalker." He pulled out his golden gun and twisted into the open. The shot hit Phogoth's heart. The mutated ogre dropped to one knee, roaring in pain. Firewing turned to his teammates and boasted, " _That_ is how it i-"

While the Guardian was distracted, Phogoth shot him with his eye beam. The Hunter was launched into the rock face and fell unconscious. He didn't wake up before he was vaporized. Sundial floated back to Triton and Lucks to revive Firewing.

"You were saying?" Lucks chuckled. His revived brother growled and reopened fire.

Another portal cut through space, a tombship arriving and deploying its passengers. Three wizards also came to join the new wave of acolytes, knights, and thralls. Two were ascendants, the third...

"SHE'S HERE!" The Hunter yelled. He switched targets to Xyor as Lucks did the same. They were pulled back behind the rock by the Warlock just before a volley of darkness blasts screamed over their heads.

"Focus on the Hive, then her." He switched to a fusion rifle, got up and torched a hallowed knight. One of Xyor's escorts was burned to ashes two shots later. Triton ducked his head, a sword swinging through now empty air.

Said knight was blasted away by Firewing's shotgun. The current force was less than a quarter of its original size. Two knights, three - _BANG_ \- two acolytes, and two wizards still had yet to fall.

Lucks jumped up onto the pillars gracing the Pit. Phogoth fired at the redeploying Guardian, but failed to kill him before he got behind cover. The Titan ambushed Xyor's remaining wizard, crushing it with a downward punch. Without stopping, he reentered the air and let his Fist of Havoc loose on the group of knights close by.

When Xyor was the sole Hive left, excluding Phogoth, Death charged at her. She released a barrage at the Exo Warlock, but he slid underneath all the shots. The wizard looked at the approaching Titan in time to feel three points of intense pain. The last thing she saw was a shoulder ramming into her face.

* * *

A legionnaire jumped to a better position. What came down was a helmetless corpse. S'iaan roared in fury and popped out to release a bolt salvo. His target retaliated by shooting the rifle out his hands. The Sand Eater immediately corrected his mistake and pulled back.

Two more soldiers fell around him. Qe'bre called out to Remon. "Get us a way out of here!"

"Yes sir!" Remon acknowledged. "Toncu, Fi'eeh with me!" The psions and the legionnaire ran out of their cover, their comrades stepping up on the suppressing fire.

A window spanned the upper portion of the back wall, twenty feet above them. Fi'eeh threw a demolition pack at the glass. Once it hit, the trigger went off and an opening was created.

"You sure you aren't a Siege Dancer, Fi?" Toncu questioned. Not waiting for a reply, he switched channels to his commander. "Sir, we have an exit."

 _"Roger. All units, pull back. Repeat, pull back."_

Remon was already on top of the exit, ready to cover his colleagues. S'iaan was the first to come up, followed by a phalanx. "Leave the shield! You'll get a new one when we get back!" the psion yelled.

Qe'bre was covering two more legionnaires, but a flux grenade connected with one and went off. His last two men dead, the lieutenant turned tail and sprinted (jogged) to the window. Remon opened fire when a Hunter moved from behind a wall.

Once they cleared the building, Toncu whipped out a detonator and pressed the button. Shards of glass and shrapnel shot out into the sand-covered streets. Smoke and flame rose out of the many openings.

"Did we finally get them?" the phalanx from earlier asked.

S'iaan growled. "No, we just slowed them down."

A harvester dropped in to pick up the survivors. As they sped off to Epsilon, everyone heard the call of an ahamkara dragon. _The Destroyers of Mars will be back. And this time... they won't be playing._


	9. Chapter 9, Snowing Secrets

Chapter 9: Snowing Secrets

* * *

 _The Grottos, Cosmodrome_

The Wolves fell quickly. Their leader's cloaking field did nothing to help. A new team took their place; a captain, two vandals, and four dregs.

All bearing Winter's symbol.

They stood in front of the secondary entrance to RAS-2, Rasputin's bunker. The captain and vandals took first watch while the dregs did their best to open the door. The leader kept his eyes on the clifftop above them.

It opened an hour later and they were in. Cautiously, the team moved through the complex. The Eliksni entered a intersection. The forward vandal and two dregs took defensive positions while the others went right.

The captain was the first to see it. "Rasputin," he breathed. Through the viewport and past the AI's core were a pair of consoles. He turned to the dregs. "Get started. We'll hold here."

"Right," Deskis replied, "Come on, Yaelik." The pair ran to the equipment and began downloading information.

Skanas walked out to Kanisk's team. "Might as well come in here, you three."

"Go ahead," the sniper told his colleagues. "I'll keep lookout." The others dashed inside the computer room.

"You sure you want to stay out here?" Skanas asked.

"Best eyes on the team. Fallback route," he pointed towards Rasputin, "quick shot. I'm good where I am."

The captain holstered his shrapnel launcher and sat down on a crate. "Now we're doubly so," he said. The two friends laughed.

They looked back at their team. Mortix was part of Skanas' original team, as were Deskis and Yaelik. Kodos and Koros were twins, their only difference being Koros' white eyes. They were assigned to Kanisk, who fortunately had no trouble with new recruits.

Skanas had been in the Winter's Guard for years. The group's single role was to protect archives and any other information hub. Another objective that had merged with protection was gathering said data.

And that was what Deskis and Yaelik were doing now. The only problem was Rasputin. The duo needed to keep their distance from it or else they'd be...

The lights turned off, then flckered back on. Music drifted out of the speakers.

... _caught_.

"Really, Deskis?!" Yaelik shouted.

The other dreg growled. "It's not my fault."

"Enough!" Mortix roared before any punches could be thrown. "What's done is done."

"What happened?" Kanisk asked.

Kodos spoke up, "One of us accidently got too close to the AI."

Koros followed, "And it most likely contacted the Guardians for assistance."

Mortix looked at Skanas and was soon followed by everyone else. "Orders, sir?"

Skanas took a deep breath and glanced around the room. _Move back to the skiff or stay here? If we stay, we'd probably get shot on sight..._ "How good are you six at their language?"

"Hmm..." Kanisk said. "I'd say Mortix. Unless one of you focused a lot on languages?"

"I'm pretty bad, so don't expect miracles," the other vandal stated.

"Alright. Kanisk, keep an eye on the corridors. If you see anything, get back in here." Skanas spoke in his "captain" tone.

"On it."

"Mortix, if it is Guardians, I want you with me when we talk. The rest of you will take supporting positions around the doors."

It was ten minutes since the accident and they finally came. Guardians. There were two of them, a Titan and a Hunter. Green-and-white and mottled brown, respectively. Kanisk ran back to Skanas and Mortix.

* * *

"Definitely ain't Hive," the Titan said. Lucas-3 was a Defender who happened to be on patrol when the Vanguard contacted him. Unfortunately, he came across Ryyk on his way to the bunker. "Otherwise, we would've killed a bunch of thralls by now."

"Thralls, acolytes, heck, I'd even take on Crota if he was here." Ryyk retorted. So far, this was a bogus mission. His radar suddenly went red in a sector. "Got something."

They got to the intersection and checked their scanners. "They're already with Rasputin," Lucas whispered.

Ryyk flashed his knife. "Party time, then." He rolled out from a crate to aim at a... Fallen Captain. A Fallen _Winter_ Captain that had his shrapnel launcher holstered. He was flanked by two vandals, weapons sheathed.

Lucas strolled out and his optics widened. "What is Winter doing here?" He brought his pulse rifle up, out of reflex, when the captain and one of the vandals walked towards him nonthreateningly. The Titan slowly lowered his weapon in response and approached in turn.

The captain said something in his language, which the vandal seemingly repeated. "I am Skanas, Guard Winter," he spoke in rough English, waving a hand to his superior. "Mortixsss."

"I'm Lucas and this is Ryyk."

"Plea- good to meet you. We sssset off alarm."

"Alright then, but why are you still here?" Ryyk blantantly inquired. He wanted to kill something right now.

"To... point. Collecting data, sssometime now. Revealed ssssooner or later."

The Titan interrupted. "Wait a sec. How long have you been doing this?"

"Sssince Wolves broke free. Had help from Light."

Ryyk was shocked. "What? Everyone's got a shoot-to-kill order."

"Ha. And what are we doing right now, Ryyk?" Lucas laughed. The Hunter didn't reply. "Exactly."

Mortix huffed impatiently. "We go to Death'sss home. You watch usss go."

Ryyk was shocked. "How do you know about Fireteam Death?"

"They've helped usss eight cyclesss ago. Helped defend from Wolvesss."

The Hunter looked to Lucas for input. His companion merely shrugged.

"We go to Death'sss home now. You escort uss."

Lucas walked up to Skanas, the vandal opposite Mortix eyeing him on every step. "Okay, then. I think it's best if your skiff wasn't cloaked when we come in." He held out a hand. "Deal?" The captain shook it.

Mortix chuckled. "Was in plan. Deal."

* * *

The four ships barely made it to the hangar. All of them, except one, looked as though they had just been through hell. Truth is, they had. The pilot of the least damaged craft made sure the others landed first. When the elevator came up again, Hurricane landed and then transmatted to the courtyard.

The Dragons had a look of fear in their faces. Even Dmitri was shaking. Their Hunter laughed at their expense. "Come on, guys. Best to get this over and done with."

 _"Fireteam Dragon, please report to the hangar bay."_

"And thus ends the existence of one of the Vanguard's best fireteams." 20 spoke in a solemn voice as he led the way to their doom.

They got a look at the damage to their ships. To put it bluntly, three vehicles would not be leaving the room in the near future. The fourth visibly needed repairs to an engine and a fresh coat of paint.

"Someone shoot me now." Krayt pleaded.

"You just got your wish, friend." Dmitri returned. He pushed the dark green Titan to the front of the group. They climbed up the stairs to view a very PO'd Amanda Holliday.

"Before I die, I just want to say it's Dmitri's fault." Krayt's excuse had no confidence in it whatsoever.

"Enough," Holliday said, getting straight to the point. "You know how much these things are worth right now?"

"Glimmer and/or sentimental value?" 20 asked before getting a smack from Dmitri.

The shipwright's sole response was circling her thumb and index finger. 0.

Hurricane made his way over to Holliday's side. "I warned you guys about flying over that AA emplacement."

Dmitri retorted, "It was just one turret. No harm, no foul." He stumbled back from a hard punch to the face. _Man, she can hit hard._

"You didn't come out unscathed either, 'Cane." Krayt said.

"Oh, I know." Holliday gave an evil glare to the Hunter beside her. "Both intake vents clogged with heavy debris and a destroyed engine to boot." As she said "boot," she kicked Hurricane in the leg. Hard. Before he could grab his leg, her elbow connected with his face.

20 spoke up. "So what are we going to do now?"

"You're stuck with either another ship you have in your vault or buying a new one from me." Holliday pointed a thumb at herself.

"Seems I'm the only prepared one in this situation." Hurricane now had a missing tooth in his smile.

Dmitri ignored the comment. "So how much do we have to pay for a new ship?"

"Three times the normal cost." The shipwright deadpanned.

"22500 glimmer?!" Krayt shouted.

"25000 now." Her voice was laced with evil.

"Suckers." The Hunter breathed.

* * *

Death was in the courtyard, waiting for... something. Firewing was leaning against the railing, his head in his hands. Triton was focusing on Bad Juju and Lucks sat on the stairs, his helmet singing "Heartaches by the Number." Nobody went near them, which was good for the team. They knew what they were in for.

They had been caught.

Rasputin warned the Tower of an intruder in his bunker, and Ryyk had been sent to investigate. But the AI also gave word of when Death had apparently set off Charlemagne. The end result would be their questioning.

"You know we have to tell them about Winter." Firewing said.

The Warlock's reply was a simple "I know."

"What do you think will happen with us?"

"Best or worst case scenario?"

"Worst, please." Lucks requested.

"Exiled."

"Hmm. Doesn't sound too bad. Besides, we also have the Vestian Outpost."

Firewing perked up at the sound of several ships coming in. He saw _Outrageous Fortune_ with a brown stripe adorning its fins. "There's Ryyk."

Another craft was behind it. A Fallen Skiff. The other Guardians on the tower saw it too and immediately raised their weapons. It positioned itself over the grass, then lowered its pylons. No one noticed it was Winter until a captain and accompanying team dropped.

Right in front of Triton, Firewing, and Lucks.

Triton stuck his hand out as Keith appeared. "Welcome to the Tower, Skanas. Good to see you again."

The Captain put his out and completed the handshake. _"Same."_

All the Guardians couldn't believe their eyes and optics. Triton had greeted the Fallen as if it was an old friend. Some looked at each other with a "what just happened?" face.

"How you doing, Kanisk?" Firewing asked as Sundial translated.

 _"Well. Did you keep your promise?"_

"I did and paid for it."

Lucks laughed as he hooked an arm on Fire's shoulder. "You should've seen it. Sundial repeated the insult twice, so he was running for the entire round."

Kanisk smiled underneath his mask. _"You will have to show it to me sometime later. I need to make sure our new recruits don't do something we'll regret."_ The sniper gestured to a pair of dregs, one with pure white eyes instead of ice blue.

Ryyk finally showed up with a Titan behind him. "Alright, guys. Time to get to the Speaker." Although he was still suspicious, he motioned for the group to follow him.

"Now is the best time for our own questioning." Triton whispered to his brothers. They nodded in confirmation and followed the Eliksni.

The Speaker took Zavala's place at the head of the table. The entire Vanguard and the various faction leaders were present. They were originally here to discuss Fireteam Death's fate. Now they had another to debate over.

Ryyk entered the large room first. "I present to you Skanas, Winter Guard." He backed to the side to fully reveal the Fallen team. A captain with a vandal and four dregs behind him. A second vandal had the rear.

Death followed the Eliksni closely. They all knew whatever action they took would determine their future. Triton made his way to the front to stand with Skanas, Keith hidden from the Vanguard. "My team stands with you." He whispered.

 _"Thank you."_ Skanas replied in the same voice.

The Speaker began before anyone else could. "Welcome. I believe introductions should be made." He gestured to each leader before him.

"Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard."

"Zavala, Titan Commander."

"Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard."

"Lakshmi-2 of the Future War Cult."

"Executor Hideo of New Monarchy."

"Arach Jalaal of Dead Orbit."

"And I am the Speaker, the voice of the Traveler."

Skanas nodded respectivefully to each of them. He stepped up with Keith beside him. _"I am Skanas, Guard Winter."_

Triton also came up. "Triton, Leader of Fireteam Death."

"We all know who you are, Triton." Ikora said, her voice a bit on edge. "Why are you here now? We'll-"

"My team is here is for the same reason Skanas is here." He looked at Skanas, who nodded.

Triton took a deep breath. _Out of the Hellmouth and into Crota's Realm._ "It's time to spill our secrets."

* * *

 **(AN) - Hi, guys. Hope you found this chapter humorous, especially with Dragon.**

 **Holliday's always saying "If you crash this thing, I will find you." So I decided to make good on her promise.**

 **I do not own "Heartaches by the Number"**

 **Before I go, how would you feel about a possible HTTYD/Destiny crossover? I most likely wouldn't begin to work on it until I'm finished with "The Crimson Rider," but let me know what you think in your reviews.**

 **Until next time, stay strong and OYA!**


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